2002 C5 Z06 vs 360 Modena

So, I was in same boat. I had a 2004 Z06 and started looking around at Ferrari. I settled on the 360, and chose a spider. Bang for the buck, it's hard to beat a vette. Especially used, it's one of the best sports car deals around. That said, you don't buy a Ferrari because it's the best sports car $ for $. I sold the Vette and sadly looked back as a friend drove me away after dropping it off. It was 2 weeks before I picked up my 2004 360 Spider. Taking a 3 hr test drive, courtesy of Phil Sachs at SF Sports Cars, I was sitting at an outdoor cafe in Santana Row. A Z06 similar to the one I'd recently sold pulls along side me as I'm enjoying a great salad on the patio. I look over, and know I'd made the right decision -- for me. I enjoyed the vette, it's a nice gar. The 360 has soul and speaks to me every time I drive it, or even see it in my garage.

 

I've been 160mph in a C5 Z06. It was not a pleasent experience. The nose starts to float on you.

Top speed for top speed is a stupid conversation to have when comparing 360 to Z06 anyway. They are much, much different cars. You'll miss the torque if you make the change, but you'll get a much different driving experience in the 360. Either one is fun. Top speed is largely academic.

 

I am wondering how old you are or if you have ever been involved in hot rodding at all. As mentioned earlier, you do not want to change the rear end ratio because that will adversely affect clutch life during starts and acceleration in all gears. You do not really want to change 6th gear because that will kill gas mileage during driving on the highway. A longer 5th gear will not affect acceleration until you get way above 100 mph and should easily allow the Z06 to reach whatever speed you gear her for at 6000 rpm, the hp peak. Right now she is reaching the 170s when the rev limiter kicks in around 6500 rpm. Variations in the rev limiter are what is also determining how fast various C5 Z06s ran in tests. A 100 rpm difference is about 3 mph in top speed.

Early Corvettes came with different rear end ratios, but also different gearbox ratios. As an example, my 427/390 had a 3.36 rear end, but a 2.56 1st gear for ease of start, so 3.08, 3.36, and 3.55 rear ends came with a 2.56 1st gear. But the 3.70, 4.11, and 4.56 rear ends only came with a 2.20 1st gear because the overall gear ratio in 1st was low enough for long clutch life and quick acceleration. 2.73 rear ends came later with automatic transmissions.

This is all academic, at any rate. A C5 Z06 will eat a 360's lunch up until it hits the rev limiter in 5th, at which point both of you will be in jail or dead unless it is done on a track.

 

A C5 Z06 is a very quick car with acceleration similar to my 575M up to about 150 mph. Both run the quarter mile in about 12.2 seconds at 115-120 mph, vs the 360's ~12.8 seconds at 110-112 mph. I bought my 2001 C5 Z06 in 2000 and it was as quick as they came except for the 911 Turbo and Viper at that time. I later had a 2002 and 2003 Z06, and they were quick and mine got 24 mpg between home and work. A 360 would have gotten around 15-18 mpg on the same trip, so there were advantages. My 575M would get around 12 mpg.

The Z06s are great cars, but they are not Ferraris.

 

In terms of the question at hand...how to get a Z06 to 185mph++....I would think a Vette Forum would have far more knowledge than a Ferrari forum. They are experts in Vettes ;-)

As for comparing cars, most car forums are good for that.

 

I had a few LS1 Camaros and a C5 before my 360 and believe me, stock for stock, they are about the same.

However, there's absolutely no comparison in how they drive or how they feel...

 

Jared- Getting a C5 Z06 to go faster is not rocket science, just simple math. I belonged to all those Vette forums when I had Corvettes, including 5 Z06s.

 

If you're bored, take $500 bucks and reflash the ECU. If you're feeling froggy, throw a set of headers on the car too.

It'll feel a hell of a lot faster to you.

 

A 360 is gearing limited to 175. I'm not sure where 187 is coming from.

 

M- Max speed will still be when the rev limiter is hit in 5th gear. Would take way, way more power to pull 6th that fast. Even the C6 Z06 could not do that, with max again in 5th, but a higher 5th gear and 7000 rpm redline.

m-The 360 reaches 180 mph at 8500 rpm. Ferrari clams 296 kph or 184 mph. The rev limiter is set for around 8700 rpm and that would be 184 mph. Road & Track. What is your souce for the 175?

 

The performance of the cars is very similar... Why would you be disappointed? Making a car go fast in a straight isn't all that hard..but making it driveable, fun, sexy, well handling and a quality fit and finish is a different story. Having said that...corvettes cover most, if not all of that list. Enjoy your car and don't worry so much about a few mph!! Be safe as well.

 

DOHC engine with 5 valves per cylinder and VVT on the exhaust cams redlined at 8500 rpm. Pretty sophisticted. But the Vette was 1/3 the price of the 360, so had to make hp differently, and the engine had to be less than 1/3 the cost of a Type F131B Ferrari engine.

 

I loved my 04 C5 Z06. Red/mod red. Unfortunately, our relationship ended when we both met a tire wall on the track.

Simple and essentially bulletproof cars, especially compared to a Ferrari. Fast and loud. I personally think the C5 Z06 is the best looking Corvette ever. And, for $20-25K for a really good one these days, you can't really go wrong.

Just don't expect anywhere close to Ferrari levels of refinement.

 

I race a C5Z06. I'll bet $100 dinner 90% of the people can't use all its horsepower on a road course track. The vette is a potent track weapon. The 360 not so much. The vette is so cheap is really is a silly discussion. If you can afford to buy and maintain the 360 you can own the vette too.